Folarin Returns From Hajj, Advises el-Rufai To Stop 2023 Debate

A former Senate Leader and senator representing Oyo Central, Teslim Folarin, on Sunday, appealed to colleagues, including Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State, to stop talks on 2023 elections.

Folarin, who recently returned from a Hajj alongside the Senate President, Dr Ahmed Lawan, said he had read in Saudi Arabia about the altercations on zoning of the presidential race, adding that it was a mere distraction.

The senator, who addressed journalists at a special Sallah party for constituents at his family house in Oja’gbo, Ibadan, urged public office holders to focus on how to deliver good governance to Nigerians, rather than deliberate on who would become president in 2023.

Folarin, who donated a 500 KVA transformer to a community in Ibadan, said the statement credited to the Kaduna governor on the need to jettison zoning for competence in the race for 2023 presidential election was too early for discussion.

He said it was unfair to Nigerians to be talking about 2023 when the last election was conducted just a few months ago, stressing that “our people deserve good governance.”

The lawmaker added, “2023 is still very far (away). But I know that the dynamic will change before then. It is normal (to speculate) because we have a president who is not coming back in 2023. Because of that, the race will start much earlier.

“Everybody has to be very careful now because the position of the president depends largely on the party. And also, the office of the president is like a moving train; if you stand in the front of it, it will crush you.

“I expect a lot of jostling, alignments and realignments in the next one year but now, I think what we should do is focus on how to deliver dividends of democracy to our people. Our people need good governance. Anybody can say anything but when the time comes, we will see how it goes.”

On his appointment as Chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content, Folarin said he would ensure that casual workers with multinational companies were integrated into the top echelons and given their rightful place among the workforce.